MLS Partnership Shows How AI Could Shape Sports Fandom
by Nicole Kraft, Forbes contributor
Professional sports may not know exactly what fan experience will look like in five years, but Major League Soccer is trying to build a technology infrastructure that will be ready for whatever comes next.
MLS has partnered with World Wide Technology, a global technology consulting and systems integration company, to position technology as a central part of how the league connects with its customers and create commercial opportunities. The goal: to create more individualized relationships through data and AI-driven personalization.
"Our vision is building the most connected, digitally powered league in global sports, and technology is essential to that," MLS Chief Technology Officer John Nicastro said.
Fan-Focused Technology
With WWT serving as MLS' official technology solutions partner, the league will build, test and scale technologies tied to AI, fan engagement, content personalization, match-day experience and internal operations.
The partnership centers around three growth areas:
- smarter content and content discovery
- more personalized fan experiences
- greater operational efficiency
That includes using AI and data to better understand fan behavior, automate workflows and personalize content around clubs, players, matchups and moments fans care about most.
"AI is just an input to the experience that we're trying to generate," WWT Chief Technology Officer Mike Taylor said.
AI and Fan Experience
For fans, that experience could look like better highlights, more relevant recommendations, smarter app experiences, easier content discovery or more targeted offers connected to favorite teams and players, Nicastro said.
"Sports has this unusually rich emotional and behavioral data to it," Nicastro said. "We have the live venue, we have tribal loyalty at the clubs and the teams, we have social engagement."
Taylor said the partnership is less about a specific AI tool and more about building systems that can connect multiple technologies and insights together.
"It's not just about doing one thing," he said. "It's about how do you sequence things together to create outcomes and insights that are broader and beyond what we would have even imagined possible."
Technology As Competitive Advantage
Sports leagues that once competed with each other for fan attention are now competing with streaming platforms, gaming, fantasy sports, social media and countless other entertainment options fighting for fan attention.
Nicastro said that is the reason personalization directly connected to business outcomes such as fan retention, ticket demand, merchandise sales and sponsorship value are key to future success.
MLS Strategy is Tech Focused
This is not MLS' first signal that technology is central to its long-term strategy. The league has increasingly positioned itself as a testing ground for emerging sports technology through startup incubators, AI initiatives and data-driven innovation programs.